Koko can work mainly in the three different ways in Japanese, explained

What does “koko” mean in Japanese?

There are multiple ways to use “koko” in the Japanese language, but native speakers normally use it to refer to a place physically close to them, the point in time where they are, or a certain time period to or from now. In this blog post, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “koko” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “koko”
• “Koko” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “here” in Japanese
  • Example #2: how to refer to a point in time with “koko”
  • Example #3: how to say “these last few days” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “koko”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “koko”.

• koko – 此処 (ここ) : a pronoun meaning ‘this place’, ‘here’, ‘this point in time’, or such in Japanese.

Many Japanese learners know this pronoun, I think. It’s quite often used in Japanese movies, songs, anime, manga, and the like. It can refer to both a place and a point in time as a pronoun. This wide coverage would be a bit confusing to Japanese learners. To understand the very basic concept of this pronoun, therefore, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Koko” in kanji

The kanji expression of “koko” consists of the following two characters:

• 此 : a kanji character used to refer to something close to the speaker.
• 処 : a kanji character used to mean ‘place’.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “koko” literally means ‘this place’ in Japanese. And actually, native speakers often use it to refer to a place physically close to them. In addition to this usage, they also use it to refer to the point in time where they are. Time is not a place. Yet, the point in time where we are can be considered as the position where we are standing now in the time frame.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “koko” through the detailed check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “koko” and its kanji expression in detail. It’s also worth mentioning here that Japanese people normally write it in hiragana, not in kanji. So, Japanese learners should write it in hiragana, too.

Then, let me explain how to use “koko” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “here” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “koko” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’ or such in Japanese.
• atatakai – 温かい (あたたかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘warm’ in Japanese.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “atatakai” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “koko”. In the example, it works to refer to the place physically close to the speaker. The meaning of the Japanese sentence is more like ‘here is very warm’, but has been translated as ‘it’s very warm here’. It sounds more natural in English.

Example #2: how to refer to a point in time with “koko”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• made – まで : an adverbial particle used to indicate the end of a time frame. In the example, this is used after “koko” to say “so far” in Japanese.
• zenbu – 全部 (ぜんぶ) : a noun meaning ‘everything’ or such in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “zenbu” to make the subject in the sentence.
• yokat – 良かっ (よかっ) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “yoi“, which means ‘good’, ‘well’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “yokat” to make its past tense form, “yokat ta”.

This is another typical usage of “koko”. In this example, it refers to the particular point in time and works as a part of the commonly-used phrase, “koko made”, which literally means ‘up to this point in time’ in Japanese. Native speakers often use it to say “so far” in conversations, so it’s worth knowing.

Example #3: how to say “these last few days” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• suujitsu – 数日 (すうじつ) : a noun meaning ‘a few days’ in Japanese.
• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• ishigashikat – 忙しかっ (いそがしかっ) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “ishogashii“, which means ‘busy’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with the following word.

This is another typical usage of “koko”. This type of “koko” normally precedes a word referring to a certain period of time. So, the usage of this type of “koko” is clearly different from those of the others. In the example, actually, it works before the noun, “suujitsu”, to form the phrase which means ‘these last few days’ in Japanese.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “koko” and its kanji expression in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• koko – 此処 (ここ) : a pronoun meaning ‘this place’, ‘here’, ‘this point in time’, or such in Japanese. These two kanji characters mean ‘this’ and ‘place’ respectively. So, this pronoun literally means ‘this place’. Japanese native speakers often use this to refer to a place physically close to them. In addition to this usage, they use it to refer to the point in time where they are. Time is not a place, but the point in time where we are can be considered as the position where we are standing now in the time frame. So, this usage is still reasonable. When this pronoun precedes a word referring to a time period, it can add the meaning of ‘these last’ or ‘these next’. This usage is also worth knowing.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.